Instant Runoff Voting
in
Utah Republican Party Conventions
On Saturday, May 8, 2004, the Utah Republican Party held a convention with
3,500 delegates who were charged with selecting their party's nominees for the
office of Governor, Attorney General, and numerous US Congressional seats.
To ensure majority support for their nominees and save on election time and
expense, the Utah Republicans used instant runoff voting.
In 2001, the Utah Republican Party adopted instant runoff voting
(IRV) for elections that take place at its state conventions.
Several counties also use IRV at their county conventions. The party
uses IRV to elect officers and to nominate candidates -- candidates
can win outright at the convention or, if neither of the final two
candidates has 60% support, advance to a runoff primary.
IRV was used to nominate congressional candidates in 2002. By 2003, it was used to elect party officers, and, in 2004, it will
be used for elections of the governor (an open seat), U.S. senators
and representatives, attorney general, national committeeman and
national committee woman.
Prior to 2002, the party used a multiple-round ballot system that often took
many hours and resulted in decreases in voter turnout before the decisive
election -- a problem encountered by many parties and organizations that hold
repeated balloting for elections during their conventions.
Below are some links pertaining to IRV in Utah:
Post-convention coverage and analysis:
Pre-convention coverage:
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